Immigration Proposal Teed Up In Florida Senate
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - A Senate committee Monday could start moving forward with a proposal to ratchet up immigration enforcement in Florida.
The Judiciary Committee is slated to take up a bill (SB 1808), filed by Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, that is one of Gov. Ron DeSantis' legislative priorities. The proposal would expand a 2019 law that bans so-called "sanctuary cities" and would crack down on transportation companies that bring undocumented immigrants into the state.
The proposal would bar the state and local governments from contracting with such companies "if the carrier is willfully providing any service in furtherance of transporting an unauthorized alien into the State of Florida knowing that the unauthorized alien entered into or remains in the United States in violation of law."
The bill also would require counties to enter agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to participate in a program in which local law enforcement officers help in immigration enforcement — agreements that many counties have already reached.
Rep. John Snyder, R-Stuart, has filed an identical bill (HB 1355) in the House.
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